The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-03-03
TAIsIFF 10 EFOR
CONTINUED |

RAvENNA, Feb. %, 1887.
FRIEND HARRIs:-In my last
promised to give some figures of
amounts collected by our government,
sc. Now 1 wish to bear in mind that
the amount We have to pay in tax, ss
duty on what we purchase, represents
only about wo-thirds of the increase
of price by us paid ON our purchase,
so increased by reason of The SO called
protective system. The other third of
increased cost, goes to the monopolies,
who are becoming, and have become,
milliOnaires by the increased price
they have been and are receiving
through the aid of such tariff.
Commencing with the } ear 1881 ::
The average duty We paid on commod
tiles was As 2-lO per cent, which, you
see, was adding nearly one-half the
real cost to all the goods we purchased
In 1888 our government appointed a
| Tariff Commission, and after full in
vestigation said commission recon-
mended reduction of 20 per cent. on
the tariff, and the tariff was reduced
6-10 of one per cent, so that we paid
tariff of AZ 10 per cent. average on
dutiable commodities. The amount
of dutiable commodities imported for
the year ending June so, 1888, was
$575, ,676, l96.00. on which we paid $2lO-
637 900 90 on the goods we purchased,
and to the payment of which every
one of us contributed a share, in pro-
portion to the amount of goois we
bought. This vast sum of money was
much more than was necessary, as
will appear from the following: The
net ordinary expenses of the govern
neni for the same year, including in.
terest on the public debt, We're $685.
408, 900 O0. The revenues were for same
year, $2l4, 7O6, 10000. this includes said
$2I0. .637 900 and small receipts, as tom
age taxes, hospital dues, fines, &c. and
| for same time we received from inter
nal revenue $I44, 72O,O00, Qncluding
whisky $74, ,36S 900; tobacco, S42, 1O4. :
900; beer SIG. 900. .OOO); other sources
S3S, 1851 900. making q total from all
sources, $39s, 2s7 900, leaving surplus
drawn from the people of $l32 ,S79, 900
more than was needed for all expenses,
and while a small excess would ha> 9
been justifiable, this immense overtsx X
upon US, taken behind our backs, by
this extortion, protective tariff" was
a robbery. Under the old, so called,
Democratic tariff, in 1860, We paid a
tariff, or tax, of 10 &. 10 per cent, aver.
age on all dutiable imports, while our
average now is between 40 and 90 per
cent. The natural result, therefore, il
that money is scarce, productions low,
labor unemployed, and times dull and
hard. Why? Because all this vast
sum of money is gathered from tie
people and taken to the great money
centers. The total amount of taxes,
national, state, county and municipal,
annually now collected in the United
States, is in round numbers over $725,
O0O, 900. The Federal Government in
1882 and 1888 collected each year about
four hundred millions. The net or
dinary receipts of the Federal govern.
ment for recent years have been, in
round numbers, as follows: 1881
$3.50. 7s2. 900; 1882. S4O3. .525 900; 1888
$685., 2s7 900; 1854, $34S ,5l9 600; being
over u million dollars per day during
the whole of said four years, and the
same system of drawing these enor
nous amounts (eveIy dollar of which
must be earLed by the laboring peo
ple) from the people, still rem. ins, un,
der the so called Protective Tariff
Is it any wonder that money is scarce
and tunes hard, and products low 1
Our average portion of said tax /.
about 8 per cent. on every dollar We
1 earn. So far as is necessary for the
government expenses proper, we again
say, we do not complain but this sys.
tem that robs US of over one hundred
million dollars year above proper sx'